


you & i

by buttonsoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Jazz Bar, Fluff, Romance, this is just a lot of soft feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 15:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13684296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttonsoo/pseuds/buttonsoo
Summary: in my mind,we can conquer the world, in love





	you & i

the thick cigarette smoke and low hum of conversation seeps under the door of _lucky one_ and into the cool february air. people are just starting to head out for the night, and the jazz bar is getting its first wave of patrons ranging from loyal customers to curious tourists. chanyeol loves them all.

from behind the stage curtain, kyungsoo looks out at their crowd in an attempt at exposure therapy. the only problem is it never actually works and he still ends up with clammy hands, even though they perform two nights a week and are pretty much regulars on the performers list. chanyeol smooths down his back gently. “how’re you feeling tonight, soo?”

“same as ever. i’m excited.”

“could’ve fooled me.” he turns him around until kyungsoo is flush against his front, eyebrows furrowed but soft, fond smile betraying him. “you already know you’re great. everyone knows it, and the new guys just have the pleasure of finding out. trust me. you’re mesmerizing.” 

he huffs and busies himself with adjusting chanyeol’s bow tie, gone wonky from their kisses in the green room earlier. chanyeol can tell he’s blushing by the way his ears pink at the tips. “that was so gross.” 

he winks and swoops in to smack a wet kiss on kyungsoo’s cheek. “only for you, babe.”

“ugh, god. let’s just go set up, we’re on in ten.” 

“okay, _sweetheart._ ” chanyeol singsongs as kyungsoo turns and picks up his micstand. his answering huff of disbelief is enough of a response, and chanyeol grins through the entirety of setup.

♡

chanyeol listens to kyungsoo sing all the time. don’t get him wrong, he thinks he has the voice of an angel and would give anything for him to sing on one of his own tracks. one of his favorite things in the world is spontaneous sunday morning jam sessions, all bed-head and sweatpants and hours of soft acoustic covers. but there’s something different about watching him sing on a stage, washed in the stage lights and dressed to the nines. 

the bar is dimly lit with the warm light of mismatched tabletop candles, and it makes kyungsoo look like a dream. he sings each song on their setlist simply, one hand in his pocket and the other on the mic. his hair looks like spun copper and his cheeks are flushed with the adrenaline of performing on stage. his eyes go soft with the lyrics of their love songs and flutter closed when he really feels the music chanyeol plays, and he is head over heels in love with him. 

they’re about three quarters of the way through their setlist when kyungsoo finally comes behind the piano to grab a drink of water, and chanyeol has to muster all of his self control not to pull him into his lap and kiss him. he can tell kyungsoo knows by the way his eyebrows raise from behind his glass, settling against the old grand piano and flipping through chanyeol’s sheet music. “how’s it going back here?”

chanyeol clears his throat. kyungsoo always sees right through him. “fine.”

“your selections are really sappy today, yeol. they’re literally all love songs.”

“who am I to deny the people what they want? nothing speaks to the soul more than a few good love songs.” chanyeol states sweetly, batting his eyelashes as he places his hand over his heart. kyungsoo rolls his eyes. 

“it has nothing to do with you, does it?”

“of course not! i’m a professional. i would never bring my personal life to the workplace.”

kyungsoo leans into his space a little, and chanyeol follows on instinct. “the way you’re looking at me says otherwise. i can literally see the hearts, babe. you’re _heart-eyeing_ me.”

“i just. can’t help it when you look like _that._ ”

kyungsoo is smug, he can tell. “like what?” 

“you know what I mean.” he tugs a little bit on kyungsoo’s tie, so he leans behind the music stand and into chanyeol’s space. kyungsoo smiles all the way into the kiss, just a chaste press of lips before he has to go back into the spotlight. there’s no rush, they have time. 

“one more song?” kyungsoo asks, thumbing chanyeol’s ear lobe fondly. chanyeol leans into it, like a sunflower to sunshine. 

“sure, sweetheart.”

♡

if kyungsoo had to complain about any aspect of his job, it would be that he always has to stand at the front of the stage. the lights are bright and make it harder for him to see the crowd than it already is. he’s usually nervous sweating. the thing that bothers him most, however, is that chanyeol is completely out of his line of sight. 

chanyeol is an enthusiastic performer. while he plays the piano there is no doubt in any audience member’s mind that he loves what he does. his posture relaxes and he lets his body lean with the music, closes his eyes and lets the chords wash over him. performing with his boyfriend is only slightly different.

where he would normally be immersed in the music, he is absolutely enamoured by kyungsoo. throughout their entire setlist he can feel chanyeol’s eyes boring into his back. he just wants to be able to watch chanyeol perform and see the passion he has for his music, for kyungsoo. to play off of one another and really give the audience a show.

he takes the moment and turns to glance at back at him for a third time during the interlude, and chanyeol grins, eyes already locked on kyungsoo’s frame. chanyeol winks at him knowingly and it takes all of his self restraint not to huff out a laugh into his mic. 

♡

it’s around 2 in the morning by the time _lucky one_ starts to shut down for the night, the last customers stumbling out into the cold new york streets. kyungsoo is breaking down the mic stand and packing it efficiently into its case, and chanyeol looks on fondly from where he is at the backstage door. he’s already packed away his sheet music and is wrapped up in his coat, kyungsoo’s scarf and jacket in hand to bundle his boyfriend. 

once he’s finished packing up his materials and storing them away for the night, kyungsoo practically falls face first into chanyeol’s chest. “m’tired”, he complains, muffled in chanyeol’s thick winter scarf. 

“you performed so well today, soo.” he carefully pries kyungsoo from his front and bundles him up, makes sure to pull his beanie far enough so that it covers his ears. he presses soft kisses on his eyelids, and kyungsoo sighs, melts into his embrace. “i loved _you & i_. it’s a great addition to our setlist, don’t you think?”

kyungsoo hums noncommittally, nosing into chanyeol’s space and shoving his hands into his coat pockets, intertwining their hands. “i’m a little hungry. did you call our uber yet?” 

“our driver’s on his way. did you want me to order something?” he leans back, trying to get a look at kyungsoo’s face. he stubbornly turns into the scarf, warm breath fanning over chanyeol's neck. 

“s’okay, i think we have leftovers at home. i might just be sleepy. you performed well tonight too, you know.”

“i only play as an accompanist to your voice. they come for you, you know.” 

sometimes chanyeol is struck by how lucky he is to have gotten this gig. every tuesday and friday he gets to come to _lucky one_ and play the piano accompanying his boyfriend, playing love songs and watching him sing. despite their day jobs, living in new york and all the stresses that entails, when they perform at the club it feels like a whole different universe. a place where it’s just chanyeol and kyungsoo doing covers of some of their favorite songs and they’re so in love that nothing else matters. chanyeol knows that while they’re performing its obvious he’s hopelessly in love with kyungsoo, has been called out multiple times from baekhyun behind the bar or jongdae from the sound booth. he knows kyungsoo is in deep too, the soft glances that he steals back at chanyeol at the piano during a particularly slow song all too telling. 

he knows kyungsoo isn’t too obvious about his feelings, especially in public. public displays of affection make him uncomfortable and it took them a long time to be okay with holding hands on the street. but right now, with kyungsoo snuggled up close in his personal space, chanyeol can feel it. feels it in the way they match each other note by note on stage, seamless and perfect. in they way their senses of humor counter each other so well, how their personalities compliment one another like they were always meant to be a package deal. He can feel it in how kyungsoo makes the effort to wake up earlier than his body would normally just so he can eat breakfast with chanyeol before work, all sleep mussed and a little grumpy. how he can tell from a text that all that chanyeol needs is a big hug and a mug of hot chocolate after a long day at work. with kyungsoo wrapped in his arms and the promise of cold leftovers and cuddles back at the apartment, chanyeol has never felt more loved. 

after a beat, kyungsoo pulls back to look at his face. “chanyeol, you’ve got to give yourself more credit.”

“i can’t help it," he kisses him firmly, pulling his hands out of his pockets and tugging on kyungsoo’s coat. "i’m your biggest fan.” kyungsoo smiles into it, deepens it when chanyeol makes a low, almost inaudible sound at the back of his throat. 

“you. you’re so dumb. why do I deal with you. stupid. stupid. stupid.” kyungsoo says eventually, pulling back and punctuating each sentence with a soft kiss on the corners of chanyeol’s mouth, his cheeks, chin. “i wish i could force you to see how talented you are.”

chanyeol can’t help but giggle under kyungsoo’s grumpy ministrations. “if you keep this up, i might end up seeing the light.”

kyungsoo often admonishes chanyeol for being too brazen, but always ends up unbothered when he ends up backed up in a corner with his earlobe between chanyeol’s teeth, with him leaving open-mouthed kisses down the column of kyungsoo’s neck. after a while their uber pulls up, and chanyeol backs off from where he has kyungsoo crowded against the faded brick exterior of the club, both of their lips slick and cherry red and hot breath fogging up the night air from their embarrassed laughter. 

kyungsoo only lets go of chanyeol’s hand to get in the car, and runs his thumb over chanyeol’s knuckles the entire ride home.

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine’s day jen! I hope you have a good day, and that you like these lil nuggets of domestic fluff ♡ 
> 
> jazz boys au was something that i thought of at random like 2 years ago, and is coming to fruition finally !!! thank you the most to sarah and sydney for helping me and listening to my worries, im grateful for ur support for my first ever fic ♡ and to julia for being my sunshine through my struggle of actually trying to write this, ur one of my most precious beans. anyways, thank you for clicking this and i hope you enjoy ;v;
> 
> for reference, the song that chanyeol and kyungsoo perform in this fic is michael buble’s you & i
> 
> i am overwhelmed by chansoo feelies whenever i listen to it


End file.
